[Microbial resistance: what is to be done? Information from the panel of experts]. / Resistencia microbiana: qué hacer? Informe del panel de expertos.

This document represents the recommendations of a panel of Spanish experts on antibiotic use and resistance. In a Task Force, under the auspices of the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs that took place in 1994 in Madrid, the members were gravely concerned about the national increase in antibiotic resistance. They analysed the development, evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance among community-acquired human bacterial pathogens in Spain, its relation with antibiotic consumption, and they proposed future surveillance strategies for monitoring the patterns of antibiotic use and consumption. Success will require a collective action among the producers (pharmaceutical industry), prescribers (doctors, veterinarians), dispensers (pharmacists), and consumers (patients). Two similar documents have been recently published by the American Society of Microbiology and the World Health Organization showing the global concern about this topic.

Immunologic and pharmacologic concepts of monoclonal antibodies.

While monoclonal antibodies have solved many of the difficulties of using immunologic reagents for radioimmunodiagnosis and therapy, in the 13 years since their introduction a number of persistent problems remain, most notably a low yield of antibody-producing cells from the fusion process, difficulty in obtaining high-affinity antibodies, and the potential immunogenicity of murine immunoglobulins (Igs). Several solutions are under development, including fusion techniques that enrich for cells producing desired antibodies, production of human-mouse chimeric antibodies by recombinant DNA technology, and the generation of human monoclonal antibodies by promising new approaches. Until these upcoming methodologies are established, and to better direct their development and application, a sound understanding of the pharmacology of presently available native and modified monoclonal antibodies is crucial. Although much has been already determined in this area, a great deal of further clarification remains necessary.

Degradation of carbaryl by soil microorganisms.

Four days after carbaryl-naphthyl-1-14C was mixed with soil from a field treated 6 months previously with 4 lb/A of the same insecticide, only 28% of the radiocarbon remained. Approximately 90% remained in soils with no history of pesticide applications. However, dissipation of the carbaryl-14C residues from the latter soils continued at a rather steady rate over a 120-day test period, whereas there was little dissipation after 4 days from the former. Consequently, the total 14C-residue levels were about the same, 15 to 20% of applied, when the last samples were taken. Carbaryl, per se, was the only apolar 14C-residue recovered from the soil and only small quantities, less than 2% of the amount applied, of extractable polar metabolites were encountered. Almost all of the terminal residues were unextractable from the soil with mixtures of acetone and water. Much of the loss of 14C-residues from the soil was attributed to the liberation of 14C-carbon dioxide as a result of microbial degradation of the naphthalene ring. Several fungal and bacterial isolates degraded carbaryl in the same manner as observed with soil incubations, but the rates of degradation were much slower.

[Action of an anti-viral on the Australia antigen in patients with hepatitis A virus and in healthy carriers]. / Acao de uma nova droga anti-viral sobre o antigeno australia em pacientes com hepatite A virus e em portadores saos.

Patients with positive serum HBAg reactions were treated with Viramid (1-beta-D-ribofuranozyl-1, 2, 4-triazol-3-carboxamide) a new anti-viral drug. Of the patients involved in this study, 5 had chronic hepatitis or prolonged hepatitis and 12 were healthy HBAg carriers. Results obtained suggest that the drug had some action on serum HBAg titres with a decrease or negativation of HBAg serum titres in peripheric blood, the evaluation of which was immediately seen by employing the counterimmune electrophoresis technique.